#1
He said that was the only reason he needed both legs taken off above the knee. He was adamant that it was not actually due to his uncontrolled diabetes, his enormous and continual sugar intake, his refusal to use insulin, or his refusal of treatment for the giant infected wounds on both feet.
Edit: If you are here to make a remark about how "no one runs in his family," please be aware that we are currently experiencing unusually high call volume, so please remain on the line and your comment will be read by the next available representative.
It's often faster and cheaper to just check our symptoms online than to pay a visit to a qualified medical professional. And if you’re guilty of doing that, you’re not alone… A 2020 survey revealed that 80% of respondents had used the internet for a health-related search that year.
According to Research2Guidance, a company that specializes in market research for the digital health industry, online symptom checkers can lead to a 5% reduction in general practitioner visits in the U.S. That relates to savings of more than $9.5 billion.
But just because it's convenient and free, does not necessarily mean it's safe - or right. Symptom checkers, self-diagnosis, and the like are often inaccurate and can even cause bigger problems than the one/s you think you have. Mentally and physically…
#2
Nope. Just me going into labor four and a half months early.
(Side note: had the kid the next day. He's six now. He spent 238 days in the NICU before coming home.).
#3
"Of the Generation Z adults, 45% don’t have a primary care physician. And 51% of Millennials see a doctor less than once a year. But studies show that the number of adults who self-diagnose on the internet could be close to or well over 50%," notes Etactics, a software development company that has clients in the healthcare industry.
Etactics cites various research to back up this estimate. For example, in 2015, over a third of American adults regularly used the internet for self-diagnosis, as per the National Institutes of Health. But, according to Becker's Hospital Review, by 2018, that figure was up to 44% by 2018. Then, in 2019, PhillyVoice reported on a study that revealed the number could be up to 65%.
"35% of those who used the Internet to determine the medical condition of themselves or someone else didn’t visit a clinician for a diagnosis. And 18% consulted a professional who didn’t agree with their self-diagnosis," reveals Etactics.
#4
edit: lots of questions about what floaters are: when the jelly in the back of your eye degenerates down to a liquid you see shadows of the chunks of jelly floating around in the back of your eye. Very common as you get older, even common in some younger people who've played rigorous sports (football, gymnastics, etc). Thanks for all the up-votes everyone! I'm a long-time lurker and this is only my second post =).
#5
He responded, "oh yeah, I've had about 20 of those."
"...you've had 20 heart attacks??"
"Yup"
"Which doctor(s) did you see about them? Do you have a cardiologist?"
"Nah, I never went to a doctor. My wife is a massage therapist, and whenever a heart attack hits, she starts to massage some pressure points and it stops."
"......Uhhhhh, ok......What does it feel like when you have a heart attack?"
"I don't ever remember them. My wife tells me that I fall onto the floor and my arms and legs start jerking. She says it takes about a minute of her massaging before it stops. I then get really confused and tired afterwards, and I can't remember much of anything that happens to me until I take a nice long nap."
The dude was having seizures, and thought that they were heart attacks. They normally stop on their own after a few minutes (at the most), and his wife thought that her massages were curing him.
#6
"While educating yourself can be a good thing, it is important to have objective testing," warns Dr. Robert Mordkin, medical director of LetsGetChecked. "One way to do this is with home health testing, which enables better convenience, flexibility and peace of mind."
The expert finds it "unsettling" that over half of U.S. adults turn to Google to learn more about their symptoms. "The fact that it can take weeks or months to see a doctor highlights the need for better solutions to testing, managing and knowing your health," he said.
#7
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#9
We quickly ruled that out through their med records and assured her that her baby didn't contract AIDS randomly. As we finished examining the baby it started to cry so we handed it to her mother. Lo and behold she pulls out a baby bottle to get the baby to stop crying....only this baby bottle is red and is filled with Kool-Aid.
We had to explain to her that babies can't handle sugar at that age and that was the cause of the diarrhea. She refused to believe what we said. "I was raised on Kool-Aid and look at me I'm fine".
Man the south side of Chicago is a completely different world.
Edit: Another story from that clinic. A lady came in and after she got off the scale she asked what her weight was at. She ~10 pounds heavier than the previous visit and seemed upset. So I asked her what about her weight was bothering her.
She said she was trying to lose weight but it didn't seem like her diet was working. I casually asked what her diet was thinking she was trying some of the new diets. Her answer was "Bacon". Her friend told her that if she added bacon to all her meals she'd lose weight so she had been eating Bacon 4-5x/day for the last month. She was shocked when she learned that she was doing the exact opposite of what she was supposed to do.
Edit 2: The reason these 2 cases come to mind is because I was shocked by the lack of common knowledge. These people aren't dumb they just didn't know what they were doing was wrong. It's a symptom of poverty and a lack of education. Both patients took the proper step's to correcting their misunderstandings and were admittedly embarrassed.
As far as the race questions go. I now work in a rural, majority white, part of the midwestern U.S with similar levels of poverty/education as the South Side of Chicago and these patients have the same issues. They just don't know.
Not everyone agrees. Some believe Googling symptoms can be a good thing, if done right.
"Contrary to popular belief, consumers can typically trust what they find online," writes David Kopp, chief executive officer of Healthline Media. "The three fastest-growing online sources of medical information contain content written or curated by physicians. In addition, reputable government sites like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health are among the most visited on the internet."
#10
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#12
However, Kopp admits that Google should never replace a real doctor's visit. Information gleaned from the internet is only part of the equation, he says, adding that the skill and expertise of the doctor is what matters the most.
The way Google can help is when a patient arrives at their doctor appointment armed with accurate research. "Online medical research can empower people to take control of their health – and help doctors deliver more targeted, more impactful care," Kopp wrote.
#13
Edit: necrotizing fasciitis is pretty much flesh eating bacteria.
#14
Patient goes to an outside facility, and does a mammogram. Radiologist read states it is benign.
Patient writes an email to her primary doctor (my attending), "PRAYER WORKS. Please find attached report stating I no longer have breast cancer. Please tell Dr. X (Surgeon) that I will be no longer needing surgery."
Cue furious emails to surgeon with sense of impending doom.
TLDR: Mammograms don't pick up everything.
Edit to add: Sorry there is no resolution at this time - this happened last week. The patient's surgeon is now in charge of "counseling" her to change her mind.
Double Edit 2 weeks later: Patient has been convinced to get the surgery.
#15
If you are going to Google your symptoms, experts say you should be mindful of the words you use. Stick to basic keywords, advises Dr. Nine Shapiro, author of "Hype: A Doctor's Guide to Medical Myths, Exaggerated Claims, and Bad Advice."
Shapiro says that by doing so, you start with the most possibilities and can narrow down to the most probable diagnoses. You should also use medical terms like "abdominal pain" instead of typing in something like "upset tummy." This is more likely to lead you to accurate medical sites instead of a page that'll take you down the wrong road.
That said, if you have serious concerns about your health, the wisest thing to do is go straight to a real, qualified doctor.
#16
I thought I had a really bad muscle spasm.
I actually had cancer.
Oopsie!!
#17
EDIT: I will give the caveat that if a patient volunteers that they were looking up their symptoms online, I'll always ask them what they think they have and why. This can sometimes give insight to symptoms or concerns they may not have let on about that help me to make a correct diagnosis. Besides, taking an active role in your health is certainly not a bad thing. As long as you're not acting as if I'm some moron, I welcome that kind of discussion.
#18
Twice I have had people worried that their dog's abdomen was "covered in ticks". Turns out both times to be the nipples. One of them stated someone told them to try to burn the "ticks" off. Another one asked why their male dog had nipples and why they had never seen them before.
Another one was a guy that brought his 3 year old beautiful spaniel in because he saw "tapeworms all over his rear end". Dog comes in severely lethargic and with a diaper on (dog also had severe diarrhea). When I pulled back the diaper... maggots. Everywhere. He said he googled a picture of tapeworms and that's what it looked like. Uh, no.
Dog apparently had a small wound near his rear that got infested with maggots and by putting the diaper on, it only exacerbated the problem. Dog ended up passing later that evening after spending hours removing the maggots, shaving hair, and administering every medication we could. We told the guy next time to not Google things and bring in his pets immediately if there is ever anything that seems off. I think he learned his lesson.
#19
Turns out the reason he wasn't losing weight again was because of the mass roughly the size of an Aussie rules football on his stomach. Doc orders a biopsy, hopefully it's benign. Doc gets the results, consults cancer specialist, and schedules to take it out in two weeks time.
After they get home, cancer doc called them back and says, let's move that up to tomorrow. Turns out it was a really fare form of cancer, that the specialist had to look up the literature on. Extremely fast growing, super rare cancer with a name I can't remember, because it's about twenty letters long.
Eventually they remove a 3kg mass, along with part of his stomach. On chemo for a while, and six month check ups for the rest of his life, but otherwise good.
Sunny side up, it's now real easy for him to lose weight.
#20
a young couple brought me their young ginger cat, requesting euthanasia because he had cancer. I asked why they thought so. They cited a) the tumours on the margins of his eyelids (which were actually normal pigmentation, or ginger cat "freckles") and b) that there were drops of blood when he jumped into the empty bathtub (which were actually re-hydrated flea dirt falling off the cat onto the wet tub). I talked them out of euthanizing their perfectly healthy cat.